Elves, and Hobbits and Jedi!
by Sprikolas
Summary: Heh. A Star Wars and Lord of the Rings crossover. Who'da thunk it?
1. Damn Bucket

ANYway, i thought to add a bit on randomness to my life, I ought to write a story. A humor, Lotr and Star Wars story. So, here it is. It's between YJK and NJO, and I picked out the relationships i like best. J/TK, J/Z, A/T, and H/L

Diclaimer: own nothing. 'cept my pants. warning: My writing is really bad second warning: I'm going to try to use the Star wars characters in character, but the Lord of the Rings ones will be all over the place. Humourous, some from the Bagenders series.. watch for randomness.

CHAPTER ONE: Damn bucket...

All was at peace. The Millenium Falcon slipped through space quietly and with ease. Everyone except Chewbacca was asleep, taking advantage of the long trip to catch up on extra sleep their busy lives did not allow for. Chewie monitored the ship's systems, but after two hours of everything working fine, he fell asleep, leaning back in his oversized co-pilot's chair. That's when the fun began. With a screech of metal and a sudden jolt, the ship slammed back into regular space, falling out of lightspeed. The Wookiee slammed to the floor when the ship jolted, and was almost instantly back up and running checks, rubbing his tailbone. In the captain's quarters, Han Solo fell out of his cozy bunk with a thump, ending up on the floor in a tangle of blankets, pillows and Leia. In the ship's lounge, the subtle combined snoring of Zekk (curled around Jaina) and Lowbacca (stretched out on a bench) was suddenly replaced with thumps and a girlish squeal from Zekk. Down the hall, a clang was followed by a familiar exclamation.

"We're doomed!" C3PO picked himself off the floor of the hold and helped up his fellow droid, R2D2, who was on his back, flailing his wheel-treads vainly. The droids had been standing in shutdown mode, awaiting the ship's arrival onto Coruscant, where the Solo family (and friends) were to be taking a short vacation. Behind Threepio, a brown-haired head poked out of the Rock Dragon's doorway.

"What's going on? We can't already be there.. It's only been six hours.." Jacen Solo looked ruffled, as if banthas had traversed his hair and clothing in a rampage. He and Tenel Ka had been sleeping in the Hapan ship, as the Falcon's lounge was full. He had fallen off his couch when the ship jolted, but Tenel Ka, with her crazy reflexes, had 'caught' him on the way down, which only ended with her laying beneath him. Jacen had cordially picked himself up, made sure she was alright, ("Of course I am uninjured. It would take more than such a fall to damage me. There is no need to be concerned") and made his way to the door to find out the cause of the jolt.

"Not sure, Master Jacen, but I wouldn't doubt that there is again something wrong with this overgrown bucket!" Jacen grinned. Threepio will probably never trust his father's ship. Jacen didn't blame him.

Back in the lounge, Lowie, Jaina and Zekk had picked themselves up and joined the elder Solos in the cockpit. Han was checking systems frantically, mumbling to himself and to Chewie, who growled back answers to Han's queries. Jaina, trying not to interrupt her father's concentration, glanced at her mother, who was very used to these situations. Leia tried not to snicker, and mouthed 'Hyperdrive' to her daughter, who grinned and nodded. At that moment Jacen bounded into the now-crowded cockpit with Anakin and Tahri in tow. The droids knew better that to come in while Han was fixing problems, as he was apt to throwing hydrospanners.

"What's up? we can't be there already?" Anakin asked, with a grin, which quickly faded as his father turned from the computers.

"Well, we're stuck here. The hyperdrive's quit on us. (Both Jaina and Leia tried not to smile) The boards here say the wiring is slagged, also the cooling system's fried to hell. There's no way to move her past sublight, and I took all the extra parts out of the hold so you could bring the Dragon to be repaired on Coruscant." Han was sweating now, and ran his hand through his stuck-up hair.

"Can anything from the Rock Dragon be used to fix the problems?" Luke said as he walked in from the second crew cabin. (It was starting become crowded to the point of suffocation)

"No, the parts from a Hapan ship are too small to use on a freighter, they make 'em too delicate. Our best bet is to take her down to the only planet in range. The only thing is, I don't know which planet it is. It's an M class, but no idea if they'll have parts or anything." Han shooed everyone out of the cramped space, except for Jaina and Chewie, who strapped down and set themselves to bringing the wounded Falcon to the blue-green sphere on their viewscreens.

The Fellowship, not far out of Rivendell, were resting on a hilltop. Well, we say resting, but in fact they were fighting. Again.

"So, the gap of Rohan is watched. Can't we just go through quietly? He can't possibly be watching it ALL the time.." Boromir was not letting go of this very easily.

"I keep telling you, we must take the mountain pass. As the wizard here, I beleive that you all should just shut up and take my instructions!" Gandalf, on the other hand, was getting a little too excited about this argument, but this most likely had something to do with the fact that he had been taking big swigs of a hip flask, and was beginning to sway a little when he made big hand gestures. Aragorn was sitting with the fighters, quietly waiting for his opinion to matter. The hobbits were sleeping, taking advantage of another long-winded fight to catch up on missed sleep. Gimli was nowhere to be seen, but it was suspected he was braiding more of his nose hair. Legolas refused to take any part of the arguments of the Wizard and men, and sat on a rock, looking serene as he contemplated nature.

Out of nowhere, and making everyone jump, was a huge shadow in the sky, accompanied by bangs and flashes of light. Gandalf brought his staff up at once, and with minimal swaying, shot beams of fire at the shadow. He mostly missed, but a few choice shots hit the threat. Within a minute, the shape was now shaking and making more pronounced noises as it attempted to settle on the ground 100 feet from the group. With one last BANG! it fell the last meter or so, and landed with a crunch.

"What new devilry is this?" Boromir said, sounding awed and as though he had just soiled his manly leggings. With a WHOOSH the door of the ship (it could only be so, as it didn't seem alive) opened to reveal a furry being and several humans, all pointing weapons at the fellowship. The hairy one roared a challenge to the group, and Legolas stooped looking serene, as he had fainted.


	2. You speak what?

CHAPTER 2: you speak what?!?

The fellowship readied themselves in case the new arrivals wanted to fight. Gimli loosened his axes, Frodo got ready to fall over and squeak like a hamster, and Legolas was still unconscious. From the ramp of the large 'ship' the hairy being growled and roared another challenge. Han was about to tell Chewie to shut up and stop frightening the poor peasants when Gandalf, albeit with much swaying, yelled out. "I'm sure I didn't damage your ship permanently. If you wish to remove my arms, please, feel free to come down here and try!" His credibility at being able to deflect the huge Wookiee was somewhat low at the sight of a drunken old man with huge eyebrows and little ability to stand without swaying.

Chewie was silent immediately, stunned by the old man's ability to understand Wookiee. Han sputtered vaguely, then managed to arrange his sounds into words.

"You know what he's saying? How?" He walked past his friend and came down to face Gandalf.

"I'm a wizard. It is my livelihood to understand the speech of other cultures. Now, who are you strange people, and why have you interrupted our quest? Are you sent from Sarumon? Or a greater evil?" Gandalf eyed Han with suspicion and started suddenly at the appearance of more people at the ramp.

"I am General Han Solo, of the New Republic. I don't know anything of Sarumon or any evil you speak of, and have no quarrel with you or your people. In fact, we don't even know where we are. My ship," Han waved behind him vaguely, "was damaged just outside of this planet's atmosphere. I'm taking my family and some friends for a vacation, and because of the breakdown, had to come in to repair. Do you know where I can find somewhere to get parts for my ship? We would gladly get out of the way of your... quest.." Behind Han, Leia and Luke came down to see who Han was talking to.

"Hmph. I know nothing of your ship, or repairs. This place is known by most as Middle Earth, and the area we now stand upon is Hollin. I am Gandalf the Grey, and we quest forth against the greater evil of Sauron. Traveling with me is Aragorn, heir to the Kingship of Gondor, Boromir.. some tosser who came along for the free fighting, Legolas, that prone feminine-looking chap, Gimli, our token dwarf, and four Hobbits..." He pointed. "Those small, useless looking people. I see you have more aboard than yourself and the beast." Gandalf managed to straighten himself, and with noticeable effort, threw off the effects of the alcohol, as least for now.

"Please introduce the remainder of your group, so we can all sit and find out what is to be done!" Leia, seeing an opening to introduce herself, strode forward.

"I am Leia Organa Solo, and this," She nodded to her left, "is my brother, Luke Skywalker. Han is my husband, and our children travel with us." With a growl to the remaining passengers aboard the Falcon, Chewie came down the ramp and introduced himself.

"Chewbacca? Hmph." Gandalf bowed, and turned his attention to the large group of people who had come down to meet the still-silent fellowship.

"Hey. I'm Jacen.. My sister Jaina, and brother Anakin. Nice country you've got here.. Any interesting animals?" Jaina elbowed her brother, and curtsied to the wizard. Anakin looked lost, and towing Tahiri with him, and went to stand beside Chewie. Tahiri, rolling her eyes, introduced herself to Gandalf, then looked over the rest of the fellowship. When she saw the hobbits, her eyes lit up and she pulled Anakin over to talk to them. Pippin, the closest hobbit to Tahiri, tried to edge back, but when the girl's enthusiasm bubbled over, he stuck out his hand to introduce himself.

"I'm Peregrin Took, son of Paladin. Yeh can call me Pippin or Pip if yeh want. This," Pippin grabbed behind and pulled Merry forward, " If mah cousin Meriadoc. call him Merry." Frodo and Sam managed to back up out of Pip's grabbing range, but Tahiri didn't mind.

"I'm Tahiri. This is Anakin, and we're pleased to meet you. If I may ask, why do you not wear shoes?" Tahiri pointed to the hobbit's feet. Pippin grinned, and Merry just looked shy.

"We're hobbits, we dunna havta wear shoes, our feet are think enough to walk over rocks. Why, miss, do you not wear shoes?" Tahiri grinned back, finally finding someone who understood her aversion to shoes. Anakin soon struck up a conversation about the weather with Merry while his girlfriend chatted to Pip about 'crazy shoe-wearing folk'. Meanwhile, Zekk, Lowie and Tenel Ka had descended, and met Gandalf. Zekk, after having heard Boromir being introduced as someone who "came along for the free fighting", went over and casually complemented the Gondorian on his sword. Manly sword-talk soon followed.

Lowie edged over to the almost cowering Frodo and Sam, and attempted to engage them in conversation, via Emteedee. Tenel Ka, after surveying the group, attempted to bring Legolas back to consciousness. This involved much prodding him until the elf decided to come 'round. Finally, the last inhabitants of the ship came down. Threepio and R2 edged slowly down the ramp, and were greeted with odd stares from the fellowship, and grins from most of the others. Gandalf scowled, and when the droids came within reach, he jabbed at R2 with his staff. The little droid squealed, and wheeling forward, shot sparks at Gandalf. Leia managed to get between the combatants before the wizard did something unnatural to the droid, and patted R2's head. She explained.

"These are our droids. They are machines, built to do jobs for us like people. This one We call R2D2, and the tall, golden one is C3PO. He translates languages." At this, Gandalf snorted, and said to the droid, in a sneering voice:

"Llie n'vanima ar' lle atara lanneina!" Threepio cocked his head to the side, and after 3.7 seconds, responded.

"Quel amrun! Saesa omentien lle.". Gandalf snorted again and fell silent. Han smacked Threepio.

"What did he say? And what was that you said?"

"Well, I am fluent in over six million forms of communication.." he trailed off, seeing the glint in Han's eye that meant another smack was coming. "He insulted my mother and my way of dressing, and I believe I greeted him cordially. The language is merely Quenyan, an old Elven language." Gandalf scowled deeper at the droid, and turning to his now larger fellowship, he said:

"If that's all, let us sit for awhile and rest. My old bones cannot take much more excitement!" A snort came from Legolas at this.

With night quickly approaching, the fellowship and the new 'expansions' built up a large fire and attempted to find food. Han and Luke rummaged in the Falcon for anything they could share, while Leia and unwilling volunteers Jaina and Anakin helped bring out some tents for the night. Aragorn conversed quietly with Gandalf off to the side of the group.

"Shall we continue our quest with these strange people? We cannot help them with their ship, but perhaps their skills will come in handy in Mordor." Aragorn didn't trust anyone but the fellowship, but since he had stood to the side and scowled the whole time they were introducing, he had not talked to any of the new arrivals.

"They may yet help us on our journey. But I do not wish to take them against their will. We shall discuss this with them tonight, and depart in the morning, nine strong or twenty-two." Gandalf knew that the Ranger disliked strangers, and he did not want one of them overhearing any plans they had not yet discussed. Aragorn scowled deeply at the wizard's departing form, then strode off into the blackness with his bow. Hopefully some hunting could take his mind off the departure tomorrow.

He had not gone ten feet beyond the circle of firelight when he heard faint footsteps behind. Turning, he found two of the strangers, a fire-haired female with one arm, and one of the brown-haired twins... Jacen? He had not listened enough to remember if that name was right. He spoke quietly when they had caught up.

"Why do you follow me? I must travel lightly and silently if you wish to eat anything but travel rations tonight."

"This is a fact. However, we are Jedi, and trained in many arts. Walking loudly is not something Jedi are know for. We come to aid you in your hunt. I am Tenel Ka, but I do not know your name." Tenel Ka addressed Aragorn directly, looking into his eyes with a regal air that challenged the Ranger to send her back. Aragorn realized this was no weak child, even with only one limb. He sensed that she could probably fight him to the ground with her corded muscles and lithe body. He nodded slightly, accepting the girl's presence.

"I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn, and heir to the throne on Gondor." He bowed. "You may accompany me, but be warned, I move fast. Who is your companion? Is he also one of these 'Jedi' of which you speak?"

"Yes." Jacen stepped forward and spoke. "I am Jacen, Jedi knight. I, uh.. I can sense animals nearby, and thought you may need someone with my skills." He stuttered slightly when he saw the kingly stare Aragorn fixed him with. Not unlike Tenel Ka's when she was angry. Jacen made a mental note not to interfere with the man. Aragorn looked Jacen over. 'Hm. Muscled, but he gives off an air of boy-ishness. Yet, if he can find meat for me, I suppose there is not harm in having him along.' Aragorn nodded at both the young Jedi.

"You may come. What do you plan to hunt with, may I ask?" He hefted his bow and quiver to relay his meaning.

"We will hunt with these, Aragorn." Tenel Ka unclipped her lightsaber and turned it on. The Ranger looked impressed.

"What is this, Milady? Some kind of magical sword?"

"It is a lightsaber, the weapon of the Jedi. It will carve through most anything. Each Jedi must make thier own saber as part of their training." At this Jacen also flicked on his lightsaber. Aragorn nodded, still looking awed. He turned, and set off at a light run. The Jedi re-clipped thier lightsabers and followed.

While Jacen, Tenal Ka and Aragorn were out hunting, everyone else was organizing, looking around or putting up tents. Boromir and Zekk, having found a common bond in weaponry and battle-lore, had volunteered to watch the bonfire. Boromir was facinated by Zekk's lightsaber, and kept asking the Jedi if it could slice through what had a found.

"Will it cut through wood?" Boromir's voice was less manly when he got excited.

"Yes, my friend. It will cut through wood." Zekk sighed, and unclipped his saber for yet another demo. Boromir grinned and help up a stick of firewood. Zekk ignited his lightsaber and sliced easily through the stick, as if it were Bantha meat. Boromir dropped the now-smouldering stick onto the fire and unsheathed his sword.

"Your magic sword is powerful, my friend, but what against the might of Gondor?" The man lunged at Zekk's still pulsating lightsaber with his sword. Zekk yelled and tried to dodge, but the Jedi was no match in agility for an excited Gondorian who had caught him by surprise. Boromir jumped forward and the swords clashed. Or rather, they would have clashed had Boromir's blade not been severed cleanly from the hilt. Zekk switched off his lightsaber and chanced a look at Boromir. Shock, dismay and predominantly awe covered the large man's face. He looked down at the blade shining on the dusk-shadowed grass, then at the useless hilt in his hand. Boromir gasped soundlessly for a moment, then managed a word.

"Wow."

Meanwhile, Leia finshed bringing out the last tent from the Falcon. Han's ship was always prepared for anything, as it's constuction warented many unscheduled stops. Translation: It's a malfunctioning bucket, so they always had to have gear for emergency fix-it stops Jaina, Anakin and Leia had managed to rummage up three small tents, and enough outdoor bedding for six people. After dinner, Leia figured, they could draw for tents or the sleeping cabins in the Falcon. Leia turned to her daughter.

"Well, that's it. We'll figure out who sleeps in these later. Dare we go over and chat with the pretty blond? Legolas?" Jaina grinned and shook her head.

"Subtle, Mom. Does Dad know about this yet?" She grinned at her mother's spreading blush. "No, I think Legolas is too in love ith himself to be much to talk to. We're better off with the dwarf." Jaina ignored Leia's continuing sputterings and joined Tahiri and Anakin, who were sitting with Merry and Pippin, trying to not be noticed and set to work.

On the other side of the encampment, Gandalf has having a coversation with Threepio, completely in Sindarin. The droid had managed to pull to the other ancient elven language from his memory banks, and was currently explaining their complete story to the wizard. (albeit without the classified parts)Artoo hooted and beeped his own embellishments every so often, but Gandalf didn't mind. He was getting rather fond of these machines.

Darkness fell. Zekk, without the help of the still-stunned Boromir, managed to keep the fire high. Anakin, tired of the hobbits's farm and tavern talk, came over to help. Luke and Han failed to find anything edible in the ship, as one of Gandalf's fire-blasts had incinerated the food storage compartments. Aragorn, however, managed to bring back two deer and a brace of rabbits. Jacen and Tenel Ka followed the Ranger, and took the credit for the deer. One was killed with a saber hole in the neck, the other had it's back broken by a kick from Tenel Ka. Aragorn had trapped the rabbits in an area where Jacen had told him the animals came to sleep.

One deer was spitted over the fire to roast, while Sam was given the rabbits. While waiting for the food, the company chatted amongst themselves. Chewbacca and Lowie returned from a forest walk, and Boromir still stared at his blade and hilt set. Dinner was served. Sam had produced a thick meaty stew form the rabbits, while the deer roast was seasoned from the hobbit's stash of spices. Aragorn ate quickly, then set to work cutting the remaining deer for drying. Gandalf would help with magic to produce jerky for the following day's departure.

The wizard finished his food, and waited for the rest to be done. He cleared his throat when the last hobbit sat back full, and caught the attention of all. Gandalf began..


	3. Lightsabers

CHAPTER FOUR: Lightsabers, and the 'new' fellowship 

With night quickly approaching, the fellowship and the new 'expansions' built up a large fire and attempted to find food. Han and Luke rummaged in the Falcon for anything they could share, while Leia and unwilling volunteers Jaina and Anakin helped bring out some tents for the night. Aragorn conversed quietly with Gandalf off to the side of the group.

"Shall we continue our quest with these strange people? We cannot help them with their ship, but perhaps their skills will come in handy in Mordor." Aragorn didn't trust anyone but the fellowship, but since he had stood to the side and scowled the whole time they were introducing, he had not talked to any of the new arrivals.  
"They may yet help us on our journey. But I do not wish to take them against their will. We shall discuss this with them tonight, and depart in the morning, nine strong or twenty-two." Gandalf knew that the Ranger disliked strangers, and he did not want one of them overhearing any plans they had not yet discussed.

Aragorn scowled deeply at the wizard's departing form, then strode off into the blackness with his bow. Hopefully some hunting could take his mind off the departure tomorrow. He had not gone ten feet beyond the circle of firelight when he heard faint footsteps behind. Turning, he found two of the strangers, a fire-haired female with one arm, and one of the brown-haired twins... Jacen? He had not listened enough to remember if that name was right. He spoke quietly when they had caught up.

"Why do you follow me? I must travel lightly and silently if you wish to eat anything but travel rations tonight."  
"This is a fact. However, we are Jedi, and trained in many arts. Walking loudly is not something Jedi are know for. We come to aid you in your hunt. I am Tenel Ka, but I do not know your name." Tenel Ka addressed Aragorn directly, looking into his eyes with a regal air that challenged the Ranger to send her back.

Aragorn realized this was no weak child, even with only one limb. He sensed that she could probably fight him to the ground with her corded muscles and lithe body. He nodded slightly, accepting the girl's presence.  
"I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn, and heir to the throne on Gondor." He bowed. "You may accompany me, but be warned, I move fast. Who is your companion? Is he also one of these 'Jedi' of which you speak?"

"Yes." Jacen stepped forward and spoke. "I am Jacen, Jedi knight. I, uh.. I can sense animals nearby, and thought you may need someone with my skills." He stuttered slightly when he saw the kingly stare Aragorn fixed him with. Not unlike Tenel Ka's when she was angry. Jacen made a mental note not to interfere with the man.

Aragorn looked Jacen over. 'Hm. Muscled, but he gives off an air of boy-ishness. Yet, if he can find meat for me, I suppose there is not harm in having him along.' Aragorn nodded at both the young Jedi.  
"You may come. What do you plan to hunt with, may I ask?" He hefted his bow and quiver to relay his meaning.

"We will hunt with these, Aragorn." Tenel Ka unclipped her lightsaber and turned it on. The Ranger looked impressed.

"What is this, Milady? Some kind of magical sword?" Tenel Ka quirked an eyebrow up.  
"It is a lightsaber, the weapon of the Jedi. It will carve through most anything. Each Jedi must make thier own saber as part of their training." At this Jacen also flicked on his lightsaber. Aragorn nodded, still looking awed. He turned, and set off at a light run. The Jedi re-clipped thier lightsabers and followed.


	4. It cuts through cans too!

CHAPTER FIVE: um..

While Jacen, Tenal Ka and Aragorn were out hunting, everyone else was organizing, looking around or putting up tents. Boromir and Zekk, having found a common bond in weaponry and battle-lore, had volunteered to watch the bonfire. Boromir was facinated by Zekk's lightsaber, and kept asking the Jedi if it could slice through what had a found. "Will it cut through wood?" Boromir's voice was less manly when he got excited. "Yes, my friend. It will cut through wood." Zekk sighed, and unclipped his saber for yet another demo. Boromir grinned and help up a stick of firewood. Zekk ignited his lightsaber and sliced easily through the stick, as if it were Bantha meat. Boromir dropped the now-smouldering stick onto the fire and unsheathed his sword. "Your magic sword is powerful, my friend, but what against the might of Gondor?" The man lunged at Zekk's still pulsating lightsaber with his sword. Zekk yelled and tried to dodge, but the Jedi was no match in agility for an excited Gondorian who had caught him by surprise. Boromir jumped forward and the swords clashed. Or rather, they would have clashed had Boromir's blade not been severed cleanly from the hilt. Zekk switched off his lightsaber and chanced a look at Boromir. Shock, dismay and predominantly awe covered the large man's face. He looked down at the blade shining on the dusk-shadowed grass, then at the useless hilt in his hand. Boromir gasped soundlessly for a moment, then managed a word. "Wow."

Meanwhile, Leia finshed bringing out the last tent from the Falcon. Han's ship was always prepared for anything, as it's constuction warented many unscheduled stops. Translation: It's a malfunctioning bucket, so they always had to have gear for emergency fix-it stops Jaina, Anakin and Leia had managed to rummage up three small tents, and enough outdoor bedding for six people. After dinner, Leia figured, they could draw for tents or the sleeping cabins in the Falcon. Leia turned to her daughter. "Well, that's it. We'll figure out who sleeps in these later. Dare we go over and chat with the pretty blond? Legolas?" Jaina grinned and shook her head. "Subtle, Mom. Does Dad know about this yet?" She grinned at her mother's spreading blush. "No, I think Legolas is too in love ith himself to be much to talk to. We're better off with the dwarf." Jaina ignored Leia's continuing sputterings and joined Tahiri and Anakin, who were sitting with Merry and Pippin, trying to not be noticed and set to work.

On the other side of the encampment, Gandalf has having a coversation with Threepio, completely in Sindarin. The droid had managed to pull to the other ancient elven language from his memory banks, and was currently explaining their complete story to the wizard. (albeit without the classified parts)Artoo hooted and beeped his own embellishments every so often, but Gandalf didn't mind. He was getting rather fond of these machines.

Darkness fell. Zekk, without the help of the still-stunned Boromir, managed to keep the fire high. Anakin, tired of the hobbits's farm and tavern talk, came over to help. Luke and Han failed to find anything edible in the ship, as one of Gandalf's fire-blasts had incinerated the food storage compartments. Aragorn, however, managed to bring back two deer and a brace of rabbits. Jacen and Tenel Ka followed the Ranger, and took the credit for the deer. One was killed with a saber hole in the neck, the other had it's back broken by a kick from Tenel Ka. Aragorn had trapped the rabbits in an area where Jacen had told him the animals came to sleep. One deer was spitted over the fire to roast, while Sam was given the rabbits. While waiting for the food, the company chatted amongst themselves. Chewbacca and Lowie returned from a forest walk, and Boromir still stared at his blade and hilt set. Dinner was served. Sam had produced a thick meaty stew form the rabbits, while the deer roast was seasoned from the hobbit's stash of spices. Aragorn ate quickly, then set to work cutting the remaining deer for drying. Gandalf would help with magic to produce jerky for the following day's departure.

The wizard finished his food, and waited for the rest to be done. He cleared his throat when the last hobbit sat back full, and caught the attention of all. Gandalf began.. 


	5. Two chapters Romance?

CHAPTER SIX: Are you coming? 

Gandalf began: "We are on a quest of ultimate importance. Rings of power were made in the days of old, but in secret, and single ruling Ring was made. This ring, if it again lies in the hards of Sauron, would be used to control the world. Darkness would cover all, in short... Not a good time to buy real estate. Frodo here bears the ring towards Mordor, the domain of Sauron. Only there can it be destroyed, and the hope of the free peoples again can be restored."  
The rest of the Fellowship were almost nodding to sleep- this sounded too much like another council of Elrond. Gandalf droned on.  
"With the arrival of your ship and it's occupants, our destiny has changed.We must now make a decision. You may accompany us on the quest, or stay with your ship. I can repair your craft with magics, but not until the ring is destroyed. So, will you join our Fellowship, or stay behind?"

The offworlders took this all in. Luke stood up. "May we converse alone, and return with a decision?" Gandalf nodded. Everyone but the fellowship and the droids got up and walked to the perimeter of the campsite.

"So. He can fix the Falcon, but only after that bit of jewelery is destroyed. I say we go with them, as I don't think we can fix the ship without help." Han looked sadly at his burnt-looking ship. Leia nodded.  
"I agree. This quest sounds almost a vacation compared to some of the things we've done, and aren't we supposed to be on vacation?" Everyone nodded.  
"This is a fact. This journey will be a test of our Jedi skills, and I belive we can assist the Fellowship in resolving their problems." Tenel Ka spoke, and the rest mumbled in agreement.

As a group they walked back to the firelight. Han clapped Gandalf on the back,almost toppling the unsteady wizard."Ok, Gandy, We'll go. When do we leave?"

CHAPTER 7: Semi-romantic interlude

Having come to the agreement that the company would leave in the morning, twenty-two strong, everyone prepared for sleep. The original fellowship group separated out into their tents, while Aragorn sat by the fire. It had been quietly ordained that the new group would sleep soundly tonight, and join the watch cycle later on.

This left everyone else with the task of finding a place to sleep. The Wookiees had crashed off into the bush, explaining that they had found trees tall enough to sleep soundly in. Ground sleeping was not to their taste. The droids had shut down near the fire after Gandalf left. Luke had also left, saying he would feel better about this new world if he could spend the night meditating and communicating with his surroundings. He had stopped by the fire, though, and talked with Aragorn for a few minutes.

The rest discussed tent arrangements. With only three tents and six sleeping rolls, two would have to sleep in the ship, and the remainder two to a tent. While the children (Han still thought of them as children, even if they were all 19 or 20) divided the bedding, Han leaned over and whispered into Leia's ear.

"With all of them sleeping outside, I'm sure we'll have peace and quiet in the Falcon tonight.. And with them out of hearing range..." Leia's face lit up, and she started edging towards the shadow of the Falcon.

"Um, ok.. You seem to be under control.. No will mind if I just go sleep in the ship tonight..." Leia trailed off, jogging towards the ship's ramp. Han grinned, and with a wave to the Jedi, ran up the ramp after his wife. Jaina and Jacen shared a look and a slight twitch. Sometimes their parents' obviousness was too much.

"So, that just leaves the six of us," Tahiri said, unfazed. She grabbed her bedding and walked to the first tent. "Since we're leaving in the morning, we had better get to sleep soon. I don't really care who shares with me." She crammed her stuff in, and disappeared into the canvas. Anakin, mumbling something about her taking his pillow with her, crawled into the tent after Tahiri. As her brother disappeared, Jaina snorted.

"Men. Never know an obvious invitation. You always have to spell it out." She gathered her things and shoved them into the second tent.

"Zekk?" came a muffled yell from Jaina's tent. "Aren't you coming?"

Zekk, who had been staring off into space, jumped. He sauntered over to the tent and stuck his head in. "Yeah? Wha--" The rest of his body was forcibly pulled into the shelter.

Jacen winced, then turned to the only remaining person. "You don't mind sharing with me, Tenel Ka? Cause we seem to be all that's left." He looked nervously at the warrior woman.

"This is a fact. However, even if we were not the only ones left without a shelter, I would still have chosen you." Jacen grinned, but Tenel Ka continued. "Jaina snores in her sleep, and I would have had to deflect her malicious intents if I had chosen to share a tent with Zekk." She finished, and almost raised her eyebrows at the muffled "DAMN STRAIGHT!" that came from Jaina's tent. Jacen's grin faded somewhat at this explanation. "Also…" Tenel Ka lowered her voice, "How else would I get my goodnight kiss, Jacen Solo?" The Hapan princess gathered her things and crawled regally into the remaining tent. Now grinning ear to ear, Jacen followed.

Midnight. The fire had burned low, and Gimli now snored through his 'watch'. Lowie lay curled in oak leaves on an oversized tree branch high in the air, dreaming of Raaba, and for some reason, of meatloaf. Aboard the Falcon, Leia snuggled deeper into her husband's encircling arms, while Han snored loud enough to wake the dead.

Tahiri slept peacefully, entwined with Anakin. Shoes were an evil, but in not wearing them, one often got cold feet. Thank the gods for someone else to warm feet at night. Especially if they belonged to Anakin Solo.

Zekk watched Jaina sleeping, her soft brown hair fanned on her pillow. He loved this. To be so close to her, even through all the things he had done... He loved this girl. She loved him back. All was well. Zekk kissed her softly on the forehead, and wrapped his arms around his love.

Jacen and Tenel Ka were both trying to feign sleep, but neither could get comfortable. They were both very aware of the other's movements. Unable to take an more tossing and turning, Tenel Ka sat up with an exasperated sigh. She glared over at Jacen's half-closed eyes, and with cat-like grace, she pinned him to the ground. Tenel Ka kissed him thoroughly, then rolled off and to the side. Jacen, wide awake now, leaned over and slid his arms tentatively around Tenel Ka's form. She paused, then shifted back into his embrace. They both relaxed, finding finally a comfortable way to sleep. Tenel Ka fell asleep with a whisper: "Goodnight, my love..."


	6. Setting off

Chapter Eight: Setting off 

The morning dawned clear and cool.. Well, to those that were up to see it, anyway. Gandalf scowled when he emerged from his tent, seeing the eight up and about, while the rest lounged about in bed. Stalking over to the first tent, he shook it.  
"Lazy! If we intend to get to Mordor, we must leave at dawn! No sleeping past the sun.. Rise!" Gandalf gave the tent a kick and was rewarded with a groan.

Jaina's head stuck out the opening, glared at the wizard, and emerged with the rest of her body. Jaina stretched.  
"Dawn is an illusion.. A true Jedi knows that day begins at noon. However, I will go along with your insane plan.. For now." She grinned, looking back at the silent tent. "But have fun waking up my friend there, he'd sleep through a star nova."

Gandalf scowled again at the tent, then stuck his staff into the doorway as Jaina stalked off towards the Falcon and its refresher. She winced at the yelp from Zekk as he inadvertantly experienced the wizard's skill with fire.

Some time later, the entire group was gathered around the firepit. Zekk, Tahiri and Jacen all bore scorch marked pants, and were pointedly avoiding Gandalf. Lowie and Chewie had returned from their tree-shelters, and with the assistance of the hobbits, managed to put away all leftover food from the previous night. Tenel Ka looked refreshed, as she had taken a short run at dawn to awaken her senses. Surprisingly, Legolas had accompanied her, saying he needed to clear his head and smell the morning. Across the pit, Han, Leia and Luke stood by the pile of tents and sleeping equipment that had been dismantled from the night before, along with the group's share of dried meat and preserved food. The stores of food from the company's gifts in Rivendell had dwindled. This would do for now, but Aragorn was already planning to go on hunts to make up for the lack of trail food.

At last the final group memeber joined them. After his run, Legolas had asked Han for the services his ship offered. Since no one knew when the next time a shower facility would be available, the elf had washed the odor of unclean Aragorn out of his hair. Legolas kept telling himself to find another tent to share, butit was easy to win the nightly pillow fight with his current roomates, and everyone knew hobbits slept in the nude.

Smelling of exotic flowers, and subsequently making Aragorn back up to retain his 'manly' scent, Legolas joined the circle. Gandalf wrinkled his nose, and spoke to all.  
"If your time wasting is finished, we can leave. Are all the packs set?" Gandalf asked the hobbits, and Han. Sam nodded, and glancing at his wife, Han nodded as well.  
"Very well." Gandalf whistled loudly, and from the distance, and neigh was heard. Bill, a brown shetland pony, galloped in from the brush, and stopped beside Sam. Everyone except the fellowship and Luke looked surprised. Leia looked at her brother. Luke shrugged.

"Heard him last night. They let Bill roam during the night and when they stop for hunts." Sam packed up the pony with whatever equipment was not in packs, then looked to Gandalf. The wizard nodded, then came over to the Jedi.  
"Can your droids manage good speed over rocks and hills?" Jaina, who was closest, shook her head. "No, Artoo's wheel-treads can't take rocks well, and both are quite slow." Threepio began to sputter indignantly, but everyone ignored him.

"So I have thought. We will tie the smaller machine tothe pony'srump, while the C3PO will ride astride. The pony is only partially laden now, with the extra divided amongst your group." Ignoring Threepio's rantings of doom and bad feelings about this, Aragorn, Boromir and Gimli managed to tie the golden annoyance to the pony, and strapped Artoo behind him.

With this, the entire company shouldered packs and sheathed or clipped swords away. At this time, Gandalf happened to notice Boromir's truncated sword. He scowled, and Boromir told him what had happened. When arrived at the part of the story where the lightsaber went cleanly through his blade, Gandalf eyed the Jedi with intrest.  
"Your swords may well be the turning point of our journey. Any orc who tries to take the ring from Frodo will be easily cloven. Yet, Boromir, you have wasted your sword, even if it was to find the powers of these new weapons. How do you plan to defend yourself if we are beseiged by orcs?" Gandalf fumed at the poor Gondorian.  
"Oh.. Don't worry, Gandy, I have an extra blaster he can borrow.." Ignoring the wizard's glare at the nickname, Han sprinted off to the Falcon, and returned carrying his spare blaster and a power pack. After Han explained the weapon, Boromir's face lit up. Zekk, who understood fully the man's love of fighting, foresaw an violent outcome for any creature coming up against Boromir.

With a shake of his head Gandalf took a long draught from his hip-flask, and set off down the trail. Aragorn and Frodo, who was still nervous of everyone new, fell in behind him, followed closely by the rest of the company. Luke and Legolas took the rear, both able to watch for unexpected attacks. The Quest of the Ring continued, now 22 strong.


	7. The long awaited bit of walking

CHAPTER 9: The long awaited bit of walking.

The next week or so was spent walking, mostly in the general direction of Mordor. The extended fellowship started out walking in a straight line, but soon everyone found themselves gravitating into little clusters. Gandalf found himself talking more and more with the droids, and occasionally Luke, who was learning Elvish quickly. They talked of some of the occurrences in Middle Earth, but mostly of the happenings in the rest of the galaxy, starting from the Clone Wars onwards.

Boromir had found a kindred bond in Zekk, and the two happily exchanged manly stories, or spent the afternoons with Zekk teaching Boromir "how to properly use a blaster, or at least for as to not stun Pippin again". Lowie wandered over one evening and struck up a bond with Boromir, as it turned out they both liked hairy women. (Gondor is not known for good looks. Just look at Denethor.) Jaina was often seen talking with Zekk, or trying to dissuade Boromir that shooting into underbrush with a laser was neat. When the talk got too manly and more into talks of weapons and fighting, Jaina left to walk with Tahiri.

Tahiri and Anakin stayed with Merry and Pippin, with Pippin talking of life in the Shire, and Merry and Anakin trying not to be part of the conversation. Fortunately, Anakin and Merry found they shared a love for brain puzzles that Merry didn't know he had, and the two happily spent the later part of the week trying to outsmart each other. Chewie joined their little group some time later, saying he wanted to meet new people, and these small people seemed least threatening. Pippin, after some fantastic pipeweed smoking, even climbed on Chewie's back and fell asleep.

Frodo, being the paranoid Ringbearer he was, stayed well clear of any of the new and thereby threatening people. Sam, being the devoted friend he was, stayed with him, even when he would have rather got to know someone from the new group. Tenel Ka, noticing the two hobbits walking alone, made it her goal to befriend them. With Jacen tagging alone behind, she tried to talk to Frodo at the campfires at night, or during the day's walking. Slowly the Ringbearer started to come out of his shell. Sam and Jacen easily made friends, talking of the native plant and animal life, and of Jedi life.

Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli walked at the back of the column of people, mainly to keep watch, but also to avoid Gandalf's smell. The wizard bathed less than Aragorn, but his 'grey' robes hid this from anyone who could not smell him. (Luke had employed Jedi 'smell-blocking' techniques.) Han and Leia, by process of elimination, were also left to the back. Leia found a friend in Legolas, who admired her hair and was prone to braiding it as they walked. Han talked with Gimli and Aragorn of many things, such as fighting, women (out of Leia's hearing), and of when they would get to where they were going.

One eventful day, (It was Friday, but no had a calendar... so who cares?) Han was talking to Aragorn of the array of alcohol available in the galaxy, and offered the Ranger some of Corellian ale he had stored in a hip flask of holding. Within twenty minutes, the two were quite drunk and singing YMCA at the top of their lungs. Gandalf caught a whiff of the alcohol from the front of the line, and angrily pushed his way back.

"There's drink to be had here? Why was I not informed?" The vengeful wizard grabbed the hip flask and drank at least two liters. He soon joined in the singing, and any forward movement the fellowship had thought they would make that day was postponed until the three could walk without singing.

The hip flask of holding is something I bring over from my dungeons and dragons playing. It holds un-ending amounts of alcohol. This could be bad. 


	8. More hilltop funness

Chapter 10... More hilltop fun-ness.

The next morning, Han was wrested physically away from his hip flask, and given news that he, and Gandalf, were only to have access to it in the evenings, after the group had made camp. During the day, it was to be kept with Leia, and with the sheer amount of scowling that woman was throwing around, the idea of stealing it from her was none too popular.

Around mid-afternoon the group reached a plateau in the hilly plains. It overlooked much they had traveled, and gave a good place to sit and rest for a few minutes, or at least enough time to allow Aragorn and Gandalf they're customary hill-top argument. Jaina also took this time to have Boromir apologize to every plant he shot, in another attempt at stopping the Gondorian's forest-arson. This time, however, the yelling was cut short with a shout from Legolas.

"Crebain! From Dunlands! Hide!" The elf dragged Leia and Gimli under a bush, and even though most of them had no idea what he was talking about, they also hid.

Soon, the flapping of many wings was heard overhead as the black birds of Sauruman washed over them like a wave. Jacen, from his space crammed under a bush with Tenel Ka, started to concentrate. As the mighty flock wheeled off into the clouds, a single black point returned and lit on a branch overlooking the Jedi.

"Whew. Didn't think he'd listen!" Jacen said, as he crawled off Tenel Ka's lap and stroked the bird. "The evil mind controlling these animals was strong, and it was tough getting one to veer away." The remainder of the 'hidden' came over to see. Gandalf made a scoffing noise.

"Our passage south is being watched. We must take the path of Caradrahas!" He pointed quite vigorously at the overlooking mountain. "You may take the bird. But if it tries to return to its master, I'll have the elf shoot it." The wizard turned and started up the steep path towards the snowy peak.

Artoo whistled and made a raspberry noise. Threepio patted the domed head.

"Yes, I do think he's abrasive, but we did take his alcohol..."

-------------------------------------------------

The group trudged on. Talon, as Jacen and Anakin had opted to name him, turned out to be quite useful. When they lost Gandalf, (They thought he fell off a cliff, unfortunately, he was only hat-deep in a snowdrift) the bird flew from Jacen's shoulder and returned with the location of the irksome wizard.

With the deep snow underfoot, the going was tougher as they climbed higher. The hobbits were levitated by their Jedi friends, and Boromir was cajoled into carrying Gimli. Chewbacca and Lowie walked up front with Gandalf, helping to forge a pathway for the rest, but the malignant snow only filled the trail as fast as they could plow it. At last, Gandalf collapsed, and the group huddled together, too cold to move much. Bill stood over the frozen hobbits, trying to stave off the cold, but the group must decide: To continue and risk freezing the ring bearer and his fellow hobbits? Or go back, provoking Sauruman? Or worst... the mine... 


	9. The mines? Or the Gap?

CHAPTER 11: THE MINES, OR THE GAP? 

The decision lay with the group. Gandalf turned to the small figures huddled under the pony.

"Frodo? Come out.. The decision will be made by you, the Ringbearer. It is for you to pick.. Do we go forth over the mountain, back and towards the Gap of Rohan, or through the tunnels and warrens of Moria?" Gandalf leaned hard on his staff. The prohibition was making him feel weak, and no Wizard likes to feel weak. If only he had that flask...

Frodo looked frightened, then pensive, then determined. All in the short span of 1/3 of a second, which is no small feat. He stood taller, and looked into the bleary eyes of the Wizard.

"Since throwing the damn bit of costume jewelry down this mountain, nor going toa pubto warm up, or even killing you lot and going back to my cozy hobbit-hole to watchthe fireplaceare options, I'm going to have to say we go through the mines. Not that a lot of dwarves appeal to me, it's just, I hate snow, and the Gap of Rohan sounds like a lot of walking to me. We go through the Mines!" Frodo said with as much finality as he could. Gandalf sighed.

"So be it."  
--------------------------------

During this whole exchange, Aragorn was explaining about each place the Wizard was talking about to Han, Luke and Leia. Boromir was sulking, as his blaster had been taken from him, 'because stunning Gimli was unkind.'  
The Solo children and their friends were attempting to keep warm, while Jacen talked to Talon, trying to get any of Saruman's plans out of the bird. When Frodo made his decision, the group eased up out of the snow, and descended the mountain, with only minor mishaps. (If you call Gimli hog-tying Boromir and pushing him off a cliff on his shield a mishap.)

--------------------------------

Upon reaching the base, camp was made. Since they had been good boys, Han, Aragorn, Gandalf and Boromir were allowed free reign of the flask, but only after their 'meeting-on-what-the-hell's-going-on-before-we-get-horribly-drunk.' Gandalf spoke to Luke first.

"Do you understand the way back to Rivendell, Son of Skywalker? We have gone over the maps many times." Luke nodded.

"Yes, I understand. Will Elrond be as glad to see me as you say?" Luke has his doubts of the Elf-lord, since all Gandalf could seem to call him was 'That-poncey-bastard-Noldorian'.

"I sure hope so. He'll need your help, if I am to understand the full plans of Saruman. That bird of yours was plenty useful, Jacen." Gandalf nodded in Jacen direction, and the youth glowed. Luke stood, and after saying his goodbyes, left the group. He would be traveling to Rivendell, carrying with him the knowledge of enemy's plans. The rest talked shortly of the plans the next morning, and separated into their tents. The droids shut down near the fire, and Leia went alone into her tent, smiling softly at the retreating form of her husband's back, as Han joined the other men around the fire, holding the hallowed Flask.

Deep in the night, a lone call was heard..

"MACHO, MACHOOOO MAN! I WANT TO BE... A MACHO MAN..."


	10. The doors of Moria!

CHAPTER TWELVE.. The doors of Moria! 

The next morning, the group moved out. Thankfully, they were close to the mines, and were able to reach the lake where the dwarf-door was rumored to be. However, getting into the mines was an entirely different matter.

"The entrances to dwarf halls were hidden, so that enemies could not enter and pilfer the fortunes within." Gimli was explaining to Leia, Han and Legolas. "We hid the doors so well that often friends could never find their way in. Either way, we had few visitors." Legolas stifled a giggle, and the dwarf and elf exchanged glares. Leia rolled her eyes and wandered over to where Gandalf was feeling the stone cliff and mumbling to himself.

Meanwhile, Aragorn, Sam, Jacen and Tenel Ka removed all the packs from the pony. Bill stood quietly, seeming to know something was happen. Sam wiped tears from his eyes and hugged the animal.

"Good-bye, Bill. We'll miss you!" The hobbit turned to Jacen, who was patting the pony's head and had a far-looking glaze to his eyes. "Will Bill be able to find his way back to Rivendell, Jacen? The elves will take care of him there, but I think there's Wargs in the mountains..." Jacen blinked, then smiled at the tear-stricken halfling.

"Bill will be fine, Sam. I've checked his mind, and the path to the elves is clearly marked out in his thoughts. I've managed to tell him that he must go there, and not to follow us when we leave. Bill will be safe from Wargs, as well, as I've planted some ideas for defense in his mind." Jacen felt Tenel Ka grab hold of his had and squeeze it, and he smiled. Sam sniffed sadly, and patted the pony one last time.

As Bill walked off into the shadows, Gandalf grunted something sounding mildly cheery. Everyone gathered around.

"Ithildin. It mirrors only starlight, and moonlight." He pushed Merry and Anakin out of the way, and the moonlight shone on the wall. Shiny, silvery writing and drawings suddenly shone on the rock.

"The door inscription says, 'The doors of Durin - Lord of Moria. Speak friend and enter.' Gandalf made an 'hmph-ing' noise, and placed his staff on the wall. He started talking oddly, in many different tongues, and cursing as each failed to open the door. Everyone lost interest after about twenty minutes of the old man yelling and swearing in dwarfish, all except the droids. C3PO chattered to Gandalf in dwarfish, offering ideas and random annoying comments. R2 loved when people got really wound up at inanimate things, like walls, and wasgoading on the wizard with beeps and whistles.

Merry and Pippin wandered away, with Anakin, Tahiri and Lowie trailing behind. They all tried to pass the time skipping rocks on the lake, but glaring and a well-thrown stick to Merry's head stopped them. Aragorn glowered at them from his perch on a rock, hefting another stick in threat.

"Do not disturb the water. I feel that all is not as it seems within the lake." Gimli and Han giggled weakly beside the Ranger.

"Heh. Water shiny..." Han pointed at the lake and laughed. Leia scowled from where she stood with Legolas, not partaking in the Pipeweed her husband was obviously enjoying. Jaina and Zekk did not allow Boromir to smoke anything, to the great chagrin of the dirty man. They did not want the responsibility of a great, high, unwashed maniac with a blaster rifle. The repercussions could be horrendous.

Anakin stood with his hobbit and Jedi friends, trying notto be drawn into Pippin's plans for a game of tag. He got bored with the group and meandered over to where Gandalf still stood, hitting the wall maliciously with his staff, and muttering darkly.

"Gandalf, sir?" Anakin said. The wizard looked over. "I think it's a riddle... "Speak friend, and enter"? What's a word for friend?" Gandalf looked impressed, and turned to the wall again.

"Mellon!" The door grated open, much to the surprise, and delight of all. ("Oooh! Door... Open... Wow..." No more weed for Han..:D) Gandalf grinned, and patted Anakin's head. The group stood and started into the dark tunnel.


	11. Watcher?

CHAPTER THIRTEEN...WATCHER? 

Everyone crowded forward, peering into the dank deepness of the mine. Gandalf grunted and removed a crystal from his robes, which he stuck in the notch on the top of his staff. Frodo, Jacen, Tenel Ka and Sam were at the back of the group, waiting to enter the doorway.

Suddenly, with a yelp,Frodo disappeared. Sam and Jacen spun, looking for where he had gone. Tenel Ka dropped to a crouch, unclipped her lightsaber, and shouted to the group by the doorway. Surprisingly, they all responded quickly, shoving the remaining hobbit and the defenseless droids back. The other drew weapons, like blasters, swords and Gimli's axes. Jacen shrugged off Talon, who flew at the creature in the water.

The monster had Frodo clutched in one tentacle, while many other waved around, hoping to grasp another victim. Tenel Ka severed four of the appendages, while Han, Leia and Boromir shot at it with blasters, (Boromir missing entirely, and almost shooting Sam) while Chewie shot bolts at the creature with his bowcaster.

The head of the monster, when it reared up out of the water, was that of a Kraken, an aquatic monster, much like an octopus on spice. It had jagged teeth, a vicious attitude, and a ravenous appetite. The Kraken roared as the blaster bolts seared into its flesh. Frodo screamed.

"Strider!" The hobbit was petrified. Aragorn waved off the people with blasters, and ran forward. He hacked at tentacles, giving the Jedi an example to follow. Tenel Ka had already cut off a good score of the blasted things, and shelooked grimlyat Jacen, Zekk, Jaina and Lowie, as they circled around the water's edge. Anakin and Tahiri moved to stand guard in front of the group, lest any tentacles try to attack further up.

With Talon diving for its eyes, the Jedi and Aragorn hacking off its limbs, and the threat of more blaster fire, the Kraken knew it was beaten. With a roar it dropped Frodo and submerged itself. Aragorn caught the hobbit, and yelled for the others to run. The whole group ran into the door and managed to barely enter the threshold when the Kraken surged up again. It lunged for the retreating backs, and only managed to grasp the trees and rocks outside. Roaring its displeasure, the creature ripped up rocks and the very doors of Moria and pounded them down upon the Fellowship. Aragorn, bringing up the rear, just managed to clear the rocks and rubble. Darkness descended like a smothering cloud upon everyone as the last rocks settled, trapping them all.

Gandalf coughed. He pounded his staff on the floor and the crystal on top bathed them all in a weak light. Light enough to see their surroundings... A keening noise erupted from Gimli.

"My folk.. Dead!" He sobbed as the others looked down at the floor littered with dwarf corpses. Leia shuffled over and hugged the dwarf, trying to console him of this loss. Gimli settled to only a few hiccupping noises, burying his face in his beard. Everyone looked unsettled, and Gandalf snorted. Beckoning to Aragorn, Han and Leia, the old wizard shuffled up the steps. With Chewie carrying R2, the group ambled along behind, careful not to touch the skeletons. Gandalf's voice carried back down the stairs:

"Now we face the long dark of Moria. Let's hope our passage here will go unnoticed."


	12. Minetastic

CHAPTER 14- Mine-tastic 

Darkness prevailed. Legolas, Chewbacca and Lowie could see pretty well, being of elven/wookiee descent, but the others could barely see where they placed their feet by the low light Gandalf's staff produced.

Gimli, however, was in his element. Despite the fact that he tripped all the time over rocks, he was overjoyed to be in the dwarven caverns. Having gotten over the masses of dwarven dead, he chatted happily about mining processes to anyone within ten feet of him. The Jedi and the hobbits, bored beyond all reason by the merits of pickaxes vs. pointed sticks, walked at the back of the group, accompanied as usual by Boromir.

"So, my mushroom pie didn't work because I needed more yeast? Makes sense. Also, my crusts were never flaky like you describe, but kinda chewy and hard..." Pippin nodded, walking on Boromir's left.

"Aye. Y'need tons of yeast to make the crust rise properly. And don't knead it too much, that's where the tough-ness comes from." Behind them, Jacen and Jaina grinned at each other.

"Who knew they had pies in common? How's soldier-boy's blaster training going?" Jacen asked. It had been his idea to have Boromir interact more with the hobbit group, since he hadn't really talked to his sister or Zekk for days.

"Oh, he can hit a target pretty well now, if he put his mind to it. However, he still gets distracted by movement and shiny things. You remember yesterday, Tenel Ka was just quick enough to deflect the bolt headed for Frodo's chest. I think it was the ring. Too shiny for our boy to ignore." Jaina smiled at her protege, who was now asking Sam about the conditions needed to grow melons in Minas Tirith.

------------------------------------

That night, three days into Moria, Gandalf got lost.

So, the fellowship, with only a small bit of grumbling, put up the tents and lit a fire for dinner. Meals where, unless Aragorn or the Jedi managed to hunt something, an amalgamation between dried trail food andwhat little of theFalcon's food packs Han had scrounged. Pippin and Merry complained daily about themselves losing 'so much weight our clothes are falling off'. On the second night into the mines, Pippin was only kept decently clothed by Anakin's quick reflexes when Pippin tried to make a point. The hobbit found his pants held up by the force, much to the relief of everyone. The rest of the fellowship tried not to complain too much, but in truth, they also wanted very much to get out of the caves and eat something more substantial and less dehydrated.

Anyway, back where I was... Yeah, they were lost. Gandalf spent the evening smoking, staring at the walls and muttering to himself. Frodo tired to go get some sense out of him, but came back to the fire looking panicked and gibbering about 'Nasty creature. Follows when it shouldn't...'. With Aragorn on watch, the rest left the wizard to his mutterings and went to the tents.

In Jacen's tent, he and Tenel Ka changed and slipped into sleeping bags. After the first week, they had zippedtogether the bags, and slept together. Jacen sighed as he coiled his arms around his beloved.

"These mines are cold. I do hope we clear them soon, I wish to see sky again." Tenel Ka shivered at the thought of many more days in the mine.

"Well, Aragorn mentioned at dinner that we must be about two days form the other side. So long as we don't come across any orcs or goblins, that is." He kissed her forehead. "Besides, with our combined strength as a group and the advanced technology of blasters and lightsabers, we should be fine. Sleep, my cold warrior!" She grinned against his chest, where he couldn't see, and they succumbed to sleep. Talon cheeped sleepily from his perch on the top of the tent.

Anakin and Tahiri slept as soon as they lay down, exhausted form the walking and trying to teach Merry and Pip some swordfighting. Sometime during the night, they curled reflexively together.

The hobbits shared a tent, and since Pippin had stolen the flask of holding form Leia when she wasn't looking, they spent the night playing strip-drinking-go-fish. Suffice to say, Sam was the only one sober, fully dressed and punched unconscious from continued 'punch Sam in the face cause the bas'erd won again'.

Boromir, Gimli and Legolas shared another tent and traditionally started their night by fistfighting over the pillows. Aragorn had moved out of this tent, driven by Legolas's goading about his manly odour.Legolassucceeded in gettingthe fluffy pillow again with his patented 'Elven groin punch and hit-the-dwarf-with-the-frying-pan-I-stole-from-Sam' move. With Boromir gasping from yet another hit to the 'Horn of Gondor', Gimli snagged the adequate pillow, leaving the moaning man with the thin, lumpy pillow. The three then slept in two heaps of hair, and one delicate blond angelic form.

Zekk unbraided Jaina's hair, a habit he had picked up over the past days, and talked of their trainee.

"When d'you think he can have the blaster at night? There's a chance we could be attacked..." Jaina snorted.

"Hopefully never. I know of their fights for the fluffy pillow, and giving him a weapon that can cause bodily harm is not among the most intelligent ideas. If we get attacked, I'll be able to arm him before any harm to come to him." She shook out her hair. "Thanks, love. Much appreciated." Zekk leaned in for a kiss, his eyes darkly glowing.

"Think they'd hear us?" He pointed outside. Jaina smacked his arm.

"Ew, no! My father is just next door!" A muffled yell confirmed this. Zekk smiled, and gathering Jaina into his arms, they snuggled under cover.

"Whatever, Mela. Tomorrow we move our tent farther." She looked at him oddly.

"Mela? What's that mean?" He chuckled.

"It means 'Beloved'. Got it from Legolas." Jaina sighed, melting into his arms.

The droids shut down near the tent circle, and the wookiees slept on the high rock outcroppings. Aragorn snored on watch, and Gandalf muttered. All was... well.. Not fantastic, but I guess it was... ok..


	13. Moria: It never ends!

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Moria: it never ends 

When morning came, (Well, what their bodies and Han's chrono told them was morning. the mine was always dark.) Gandalf was still in the same place as before, but he looked up when Merry approached.

"Aha! It's that way!" Gandalf stood and pointed down the left tunnel.  
"He's remembered!" Merry yelled at the others, who were packing the tents up. Gandalf patted the hobbit on the shoulder.  
"No, but as you'll see, the air doesn't smell so foul down here. When in doubt, Meriadoc, always follow your nose!"

After a hurried cold breakfast, the fellowship proceeded down the tunnel. Jaina sniffed the air, and turned to Tenel Ka, who happened to be walking nearby.  
"If this tunnel smells the best, I'd hate to smell the other ones!" Tenel Ka, with a quick look around, burst out laughing. Jaina grinned.

Tenel Ka had just gotten her stoic expression back under command when Jacen ran up.  
"She laughed? I missed it... What did you tell her?" Jacen asked his sister. She gave him and innocent look.  
"I don't know what you're talking about, Jacen. Maybe it was an echo?" She grinned to Tenel Ka as Jacen sighed and turned to go. Just then, up ahead, the tunnel ended and opened up into a vast cavernous hall.

Gandalf grunted form the head of the line and passed his hand over the crystal on the end on his staff.  
"Here, I think, we can risk a little more light." The staff glowed brightly, filling the hall with light. Sam looked up at the tall ceiling.  
"That's an eye opener, no mistake!" Frodo, standing next to him, nodded. Gandalf started walking, and announced behind him:

"Behold the great realm of the Dwarf-city of Dwarrowdelf!"

Gimli grinned, and turned to Han and Leia, seemingly about to go on again about the marvels of Dwarven architecture. But out of nowhere, the dwarf let out a shout and ran into a doorway in the wall.

"Gimli!" Gandalf yelled after him, running to catch up. The rest followed, a little more cautiously. The room they walked into was filled, like the rest of the mine, with dwarven and orcish skeletons. Gimli ignored these, and ran for a stone coffin in the center of the room. He read the inscription to himself and started to sob. Gandalf read over his shoulder, for the benefit of the others.

" 'Here lies Balin, son of Fundin, Lord of Moria.' He is dead then. It's as I feared." The original fellowship members bowed their heads, and the foreigners followed suit, making a mental note to ask later about this Balin guy. Gandalf, now ignoring the dwarf's continued sobs, handed Pippin his hat and staff, and picked up a large, bloodstained book. Cracking it open, he read aloud.

" They have taken the bridge and the second hall. We have barred the gates but cannot hold them for long. The ground shakes. Drums, drums in the deep. We cannot get out. A Shadow moves in the dark. We cannot get out. They are coming!" The wizard looked up with a rare fear in his eyes. Everyone shifted uneasily. Everyone, that is, except for Pippin. Still holding the wizard's staff and hat, the hobbit was looking intently at a skeleton by the far wall. He reached out to touch it.

With a great bang, the head of the skeleton rolled off into a well, taking with it a wooden bucket. Since Gandy had just finished his story, the room had been silent. Then the repeated bangs and noise from the well make everyone turn in surprise.

Gandalf stormed over, and grabbed his things. "Fool of a Took! Throw yourself in next time, and rid us of your stupidity!" The noise form the hole abated finally and everyone breathed sigh of relief. Until The drumming started.. Deep and ominous, from below. Frodo, in a panic, looked at Sting. The blade glowed blue. Legolas and Aragorn looked stricken, and the hobbits also.

Han merely loosened his blaster on his hip. "Right. So, we're doomed then?"


	14. Troll 'n Orcs

CHAPTER 16: Troll 'n orcs 

Everyone tried to huddle closer when the drums got closer and louder. Boromir and Aragorn, however, broke away and went to shore up the door in. Axes, swords and orc scimitars worked well to block the door. Boromir took a chance and stuck his head through a hole, having a moment of stupidity.A sharp twang and a thunk later, he drew back in with a scowl.

"They have a cave troll." They quickly finished shoring up and went back to the main group.

Gandalf sighed, throwing his hat into a corner and drawing his sword. Frodo and the hobbits followed this example and drew Sting and their short swords. The Jedi, with a grim look all round, unclipped and lit lightsabers. Tenel Ka dropped into a fighting crouch, and Jaina and Zekk shared a kiss for luck. Legolas and Aragorn drew arrows and trained them on the door, while Talon flew from Jacen's shoulder to a pillar, glowering. Gimli stood on the tomb and hefted his axes.

As the drums came even closer to the room, Threepio and R2 shuffled to a cornerwatched overby Lowie, so they didn't get attacked. Jacen drew Zekk, Anakin and the girls in a circle around the hobbits. Lastly, Han and Leia drew blasters, Chewie his bowcaster and Boromir gibbered until Han glared, then he, too, drew his blaster and trained it on the door. Then the fun began.

The first orcs to approach the door were kebabbed by Legolas and Aragorn's crack shooting, then the mass of orcs just broke through, pushing the dead out of the way. Blaster bolts bisected the creatures, and a large rock nearby burst into fragments from a Boromir-related shot. (Maybe the rock had been threatening?)

Gandalf ran into the fray with a yell and the Jedi and hobbits followed. Gimli leapt down from the casket, screaming dwarvish battle yells and hewing the knees out of anything that moved. Chewbacca found a corner from which he could shoot cleanly and took out many of the orcs as they poured into the door. Enter troll, stage left.

When the behemoth pounded into the room, the orc fights were tuned out by the Jedi. Tenel Ka was the first to actually engage the troll, making a deep lightsaber cut to its left leg. The troll howled, and swung its club, flooring the warrior girl. Jacen, seeing this, yelled and entered the troll's space. He hacked another deep gouge out of a leg. Talon dove, screeching,for its eyes. The troll was not really doing well, for something two stories high.

With Jacen's engagement came Jaina, Anakin, Tahiri and Zekk. Lightsabers of different hues flashed and the smell of burnt meat perforated everything. Tenel Ka, after shaking off the effects of a club pounding, finished off the troll with an agile leap to its back, and severing the creature's head from the body with adeep saber-swipe. Jumping off the falling body, Tenel Ka landed neatly beside Jacen. "Thank you, my friend." Jacen gave her a Solo grin.

While the Jedi had been efficiently making meat out of the troll, the orcs had been trying to make some headway with the creatures without the light-swords. Unfortunately for them, orcs died quickly when sliced with Glamdring, Sting, axes, or hobbit swords. Many also had elven arrows or bowcaster quarrels sticking out or smoking holes from blaster shots, and Sam was doing well with the "Hit-them-with-pans" offensive. Lowie guarded the droids, and soon a pileup of bodies made a wall in front of a moaning Threepio. Boromir had even killed something, with a random shot into the air that burnt the orc trying to jump on the his head. Four orcs, unfortunately, had cornered Frodo. Aragorn tried to get to the hobbit, but he was waylaid by another herd of the scabby beings. Frodo screamed as one orc managed to stab him, then collapsed. A few blaster bolts took down the offenders, and when the smoke cleared, it was over. The orcs were all dead, and so, seemingly, was the ringbearer.


	15. Departure of Gandy

Chapter 17: The departure of Gandy 

The entirety of the fellowship gathered around the fallen Frodo, with the exception of the droids. Threepio had made his intentions clear with a 'We'll just stay here... You wade through the bodies' comment. Aragorn was the first to reach Frodo, and flip him over. The hobbit, to everyone's surprise, sputtered and coughed. Gandalf tottered up and prodded him.

"You're alive!" Aragorn gasped out. Frodo sputtered some more.  
"It's ok... I'm not hurt, much." The hobbit clutched at his chest. Gandalf, being the master of medicine he is, tore off the poor lad's shirt, to see what was bothering him. Obviously, Gandy had stolen into the flask again. Underneath Frodo's homespun hobbit vest and shirt, a metallic gleam was seen. Gimli, pushing his way through, stared in wonder.  
"A Mithril shirt! There's more to this hobbit than meets the eye..." Then Aragorn patted Frodo and put him on his feet. At that moment, drums again could be heard. Threepio, from his corner, groaned. Gandalf, swaying only slightly, held up his staff.  
"To the bridge of Khazad-dum! Hurry!" And with that, the fellowship fled out the door, Sam running along with Frodo lest he need support.

Orcs teemed in through the ceiling, and out from hall doors on either side. The group pushed on, pressed by the need for escape. Everyone had weapons at the ready, even a still-sore-from-the-troll-fight Tenel Ka. At last, they could run no longer. Hemmed in by orcs from all sides, they stood in a tight huddle, weapons out, dwarf growling. And then... Silence. The orcs squeaked, and a great boom could be heard from the hall behind. Another boom. The orcs, spurred by a power no one knew of, skittered back up the columns and into hidden holes. Gimli growled louder, sure thatit was his furiousness that had scared them off. Chewie laid a quieting paw on his shoulder and the dwarf fell silent, transfixed like the rest by the sudden glowing red light and resounding booms from the far hall.

Gandalf alone knew this terror. He bowed his head and looked suddenly much older.  
"What is this... New devilry?" asked Boromir from the rear.  
"A Balrog-- a demon of the ancient world. This foe is beyond any of you. Run!" Gandalf answered, turning and running for a hallway off the right. The fellowship followed, running down curving tunnels and over stairs, all to the beat of the deepening booms of the approaching fear. At full tilt, they ran into yet another tunnel, this one leading to a great cavern. However, Zekk did not see that the steps down stopped, and almost ran off them, only saved by the quickgrab of Leia.

Finally, they came into sight of a great bridge. To get to it, however, they had to cross a gap in the stairs, made by falling stone. Legolas leapt across first, followed closely by Han and Leia, Gandalf, Chewie holding the droids, and Lowie. Jaina and Zekk, Boromir with Merry and Pippin, Anakin throwing Tahiri to Lowie, then jumping himself. Sam was thrown, and greatly complaining Gimli, well...

"Nobody tosses a Dwarf!" Aragorn grinned and stepped back. Gimli steeled himself, then jumped, landing on the lip of the other rock. Legolas reached forward to grab him. "Not the beard!" Han laughed out loud to see Gimli pulled back to safety by his facial appendage. One the other side, Jacen wrapped his arm around an only slightly struggling Tenel Ka, and jumped.

Only Frodo and Aragorn remained. Another rock fell from overhead, smashing the ledge further.  
"Lean forward!" Aragorn yelled, as he felt the rock they were standing on begin to tilt. Frodo leaned. The rock slid forward, and smashed into the landing, throwing the two final people into the waiting arms of Lowie and Chewbacca. Together again, the fellowship pressed on to the bridge. With everyone safely running ahead, Aragorn hung back with Gandalf, brandishing his sword. Gandalf glared, and gestured ahead.  
"Swords are no more use here! Go, save yourself! Go!" The old Wizard pushed Aragorn ahead, and turned to face the Balrog.

Made of fire and brimstone, the Balrog stood like a tower of hell above Gandalf. He backed the wizard onto the bridge, brandishing a fiery whip and sword. Gandalf likewise flashed his sword, and staff, which glowed madly.  
"You shall not pass!" The Balrog continued forward. "I am a servant of the secret fire, wielder of the flame of Arnor.. The dark fire will not avail you! Flame of Udun!" The Balrog tried to smash Gandalf with his sword, but Gandy parried with Glamdring, shattering the demon's sword.  
"Go back to the Shadow!" Gandalf tried again to gather enough power about him to repel the fire.

Frodo, from the other side of the bridge, yelled. "Gandalf!" To keep him safe, Tenel Ka wrapped her one arm about him, and tried to drag him away.  
"YOU SHALL NOT PASS!" A last ditch effort by Gandalf, he smashed the butt of his staff on the bridge, doing, to the naked eye, no damage. Then, for some reason, the Balrog roared and stepped forward, which crumbled the bridge. For a split second, the droids were seen, with Artoo's zapping arm extended, behind the demon's falling body. Then, the bridge collapsed on that side, and the droids, Threepio yelling in twelve languages, fell with it. Gandalf, with a great sigh, turned to continue on. Then, with a great snap, the Balrog's whip flew out from its falling master and coiled around Gandalf's legs. He fell, clinging to the rock lip.

"Fly, you Fools!" And before Jacen could run forward to levitate the wizard out, Gandalf fell.


	16. Grief

Chapter 18: Grief. 

The last Frodo saw was Gandalf, his childhood friend and mentor, falling to his doom. As any person in this situation would do, he screamed.  
"GANDALF! GANNNNNNNDDDD-" Frodo was unconsciously flailing his arms about and running in the direction of the bridge end when Boromir, the only person close enough, grabbed him and threw him over a shoulder. Everyone looked ready to leap into the abyss after the wizard, and they probably would have. Aragorn, realizing this, shook himself out of the shock of Gandalf's fall and pointed at the mine's exit.  
"Go! You heard him! Fly!" Aragorn pushed at the people closest to him, Pippin and Tahiri, and they started to run towards the light. Soon the herd mentality caught up, and the whole fellowship ran for the door.

Orcs shot arrows at their backs from small crevices in the walls, and the anguish of losing friends threatened to overload sense, but everyone managed to make it outside. There, they stopped and collapsed. Aragorn tried to urge them up, to no avail.  
"Give them a moment, for pity's sake!" yelled Boromir. The Gondorian had tears in his manly facial hair, but stoically stayed upright, unlike the others. Merry and Pippin cried together, each supporting the other. Sam sat on a rock outcropping and fisted tears from his eyes. Legolas wasn't crying- he was staring about bewildered and confused. Elven grief is something that takes a great toll on the immortals. Gimli was only restrained from running back in the caves to search for the fallen wizard by the strong arms of Chewbacca.

Even the people who had known Gandalf little were stricken by his fall. The droids, however, were more prevalent on their minds.  
"I never hated him, Leia... He was annoying, yes, but part of the family! Threepio was a Solo! And how will I ever tell Luke I lost Artoo? That droid means everything to him!" Han looked lost, ignoring the tears and ran down his face. Leia was wrapped somewhere around his middle, face buried in his shirt.

The Jedi tried to console each other, since they could all feel the other's pain. Jacen, Jaina and Anakin, all raised in part by Threepio, felt his absence clearly, and were quietly grieving in the arms of their significant others. In addition, Zekk leaned against Tahiri, who pressed her bare feet against Tenel Ka's back, and Tenel Ka gripped one of Zekk's arms. Lowie, with no one to console, curled in the middle of the circle, and with everyone touching, the pain was easier to bear. They all shared the same feelings.

Frodo, the one who had known Gandalf the best and had been the closest, wandered off. Aragorn, trying to keep the group together, followed. Frodo turned at the sound of footsteps, and revealed an inconsolable face striped with tears. Aragorn turned back to the fellowship.  
"By nightfall these hills will be swarming with orcs! We must reach the Woods of Lothlórien. Come Boromir, Legolas, Gimli, get them up."  
------------------------------

They reached the treeline well before dark; thanks to the grueling pace Aragorn set after 'getting them up' took a good two hours. The group minced under the trees with reverent looks, as the great Mallorns were not alike to ordinary trees. They were great and tall, able to support tree-houses with ease. And only in Lothlórien do they grow. Gimli, walking with Anakin, Tahiri and the hobbits, looked about with apprehension and ushered Frodo closer.  
"Stay close young hobbits! They say there's a great sorceress lives in these woods, an elf-witch of terrible power. All who look upon her, fall under her spell..." Frodo shied, looking about. A voice.. In his mind..  
"Frodo.." A woman's voice? Gimli ignored this.  
"And are never seen again.." He concluded, casting his gaze into the trees.


	17. Lothlorien

Chapter nineteen: Lothlorien (the beginning) 

Gimli went on muttering about the mad witch of the forest, while no one listened. Chewbacca and Lowie were beyond happy to finally see large trees, and with joyful howls, they set about climbing the mighty mallorns. Aragorn watched them with a confused look, and gave Han a cocked eyebrow in question.

"Oh, on their home planet, Kashyyyk, the trees are so large that the planet cities are built on them. Chewie and Lowie haven't seen tall trees such as these for ages." Han grinned up at his friend and Lowbacca as they clambered amongst the mallorn leaves. Aragorn nodded, peering around to make sure he still had everyone.

Frodo was still confused at the voice he had heard in his head; maybe he was just going mad? Nearby, Jacen looked upset, peering into the sky and the trees as if looking for something. Suddenly, a black shape hurdled from the treetops and came to rest on Jacen's shoulder.  
"Talon! I knew you'd find us!" The crebain twittered happily, rubbing his beak on the Jedi's cheek. Tenel Ka grinned behind Jacen's back and patted the bird as well.

Gimli started talking louder, casting his gaze about the forest floor and brandishing his axes. "Well, here's one dwarf she won't ensnare so easily! I have the eyes of a hawk, and the ears of a fox!" Anakin gave the dwarf an amused look, then suddenly looked panicked. "Aragorn there's a-" His words were cut off by an arrow to the throat. A good twenty elves stepped from the trees, all pointing longbows and steeltipped elven arrows directly at the group. Tenel Ka growled and went for her saber, as did the other Jedi. The wookiees dropped form the trees with a howl, but Aragorn waved them all back as he came forward to talk to the elves.

The leading elf, a disgruntled looking blonde, sneered. "The dwarf breathes so loud, we could have shot him in the dark. And your hairy companions have climbed the sacred mallorns. What other problems do you bring to our forest?" Aragorn bowed to the elves.

" Haldir o Lórien. Henion aníron, boe ammen i dulu lîn. Boe ammen veriad lîn." Only Legolas and Frodo did not look confused at this. Haldir looked huffy, then beckoned to everyone, and turned.

"You have entered the realm of the Lady of the Wood. You cannot go back. Come, she is waiting!" The fellowship followed behind, Aragorn leading. Talon stayed perched on Jacen's shoulder as they were led onwards into unknown forest.

((Ps: the elvish translates to this :"Haldir of Lórien, we come here for help. We need your protection"))


	18. Galadriel and such

CHAPTER TWENTY: Galadriel and such 

Haldir led the group through the forests, towards the central city of Caras Galadhon. Haldir spoke much in elvish to both Aragorn and Legolas, which peeved Gimli off to no end. Thankfully, Frodo spoke a little Sindarin himself, so he filled in the Jedi and the dwarf on what was happening.

"They're taking us to see Galadriel, the Elven queen. She waits for us with her husband, Celeborn, in the city of Caras Galadhon. There we will find if she will help us in our quest or not." Jacen passed this information on to his parents, as Aragorn was spending too much time talking to Haldir to explain things to the others. As the line of travelers neared the elven capital, they began to see great houses in the treetops. Chewie moaned in longing, and spoke to Lowbacca in low growling tones. Haldir, seeing that everyone was interested in the tree-houses, came back to explain.

"Those are the talan of the Lorien elves. The great mallorn trees alone can hold the weight of these vast houses, and most of the cities in this forest are built up there. Caras Galadhon itself is a many-tiered fortress in trees." Haldir sighed at the thought of again being amongst his fellow elves, instead of in the company of teenagers and the non-bathing Aragorn. Not to mention the Dwarf, and the odd Gondorian who waved a metallic thing about madly.

That night, they were taken up into one of the sentry talan on the border of Caras Galadhon. The Jedi managed the slim ladder into the treehouse with ease, using the force to balance. Tenel Ka, who Jacen thought might have problems with ladder climbing with only one arm, made it up faster than he did. The hobbits, however, had to be helped up. In the end, Anakin and Tahiri lifted each hobbit up into the house with the force, as the elves could not find a way to lift them. Gimli was another problem. He refused to climb up, saying that dwarves did not sleep in trees like the girly elves, and that he would curl on the ground to sleep. Legolas tried to cajole him, and Boromir threatened him with bodily harm, but in the end, Zekk told everyone to leave him, and when the dwarf slept, he was lifted into the tree. Zekk and Jaina, both grinning, did the honors.

That night, Aragorn and Haldir talked late, mostly of what the queen's idea would be of him arriving without Gandalf, and with many more people than was expected, with some of these people having odd talents, weapons or body hair. Aragorn even agreed to bathe himself in a river before arriving to meet Galadriel, if it would help dampen her feelings towards his companions.

In the morning, they ate light elven food and continued on without much incidence, except when Gimli awoke and rolled off the side of the talan; since he was unaware he was in the tree. The unfortunate-ness of a pile of mashed dwarf on the ground was only stopped by the quick force-catch of Tenel Ka and Tahiri. Still, the forest rang with dwarven curses all morning. Aragorn's bath in a passing river was uneventful, save for the river turning a strange black-ish color around the Ranger, and dead plants and fish surfacing in a ten-foot radius.

The group arrived in the late afternoon to Caras Galadhon. Jacen told Talon to fly up and scout out the area. Not that it was needed, but because Haldir had expressed concern over one of the Crebain being in Lorien, and Jacen didn't want trouble with the queen. Elven escorts came for the fellowship at the base of one large mallorn, and Haldir took his leave. The path up the tree wasn't a ladder, as before, but a finely carved and sculpted staircase that twirled around the trunk. Leia expressed great awe for the carve-work, and was speechless as they ascended higher and the neighboring talan could be seen. Each talan was made as though from dreams: swirling woodwork, metal leaves that adorned the houses, most of which made the dwellings look as if they had been grown onto the tree, instead of being built.

Finally, the fellowship mounted a crest in the staircase, and stood on a wide platform. Before them was a great throne, and seated upon that throne, Galadriel, lady of light. She stood. Aragorn bowed deeply, waving to the others to do so. Galadriel merely nodded, then spoke.

"Eighteen there are here, yet nine there were, set out from Rivendell. Yet where is Gandalf? For I much desire to speak with him..."


	19. More Lothlorien

Chapter Twenty-one: More Lothlorien 

The fellowship looked sadly around when asked of Gandalf. Legolas stepped forward, his gaze on the floor. "He was taken by both shadow and flame. A Balrog of Morgoth. For we went needlessly into the net of Moria." His face came up and tears glistened in his sharp eyes. Galadriel looked solemn.  
"Needless were none of the deeds of Gandalf in life. Nonetheless, You have come, save for Gandalf, to this point. Where are these others from? They bear weapons I do not recognize." Her gaze cast over the Jedi, and Tenel Ka glared, then gasped, turning to Jacen and the others.  
"Block your minds! She searches within..You haven't the right!" The last words were directed to Galadriel, who chuckled.  
"Ahh. Now I understand. Jedi! Finally you have come, and not at a better time. Your abilities will be needed greatly in the times to come." She smiled softly, looking over the seven Jedi.

Lowie growled from where he stood, behind Jaina. The elf queen wasn't fazed.  
"And these other creatures? One Jedi, one not. You are not human.." She stopped for a second, seemingly looking back in her mind. Then, a grin. "Wookiees! Fiercely loyal, strong and quick minded. You also will be greatly needed on our side." Chewbacca howled from behind Han. Leia tried to calm him, but he bared his teeth at Galadriel.  
"Chewbacca, I mean no harm or malice to your people. I alone, save for Elrond, know of your kind, and of the Jedi, for that matter. You will come to no harm here in Laurelindorenan. " She walked past, still seemingly inspecting the troops. She nodded to Han and Leia, walking on.

At Gimli she paused, and reached to pat the dwarf's helmet. "Do not let the great emptiness of Khazad-dum fill your heart, Gimli, son of Gloin. For the world has grown full of peril. And in all lands, love is now mingled with grief." She walked on, meeting the gaze of each Jedi in turn, and smiling at Merry and Pippin. Coming to Boromir, she gave him a scrutinizing look. He quivered, paled and finally looked down, sweating. Galadriel walked on. At Aragorn she paused, and they spoke without words, he nodding a grim face. At last, she came to Frodo.

The little hobbit looked up at the blond elf-queen. She paused, then turned as if to ignore him. In his mind, however, her voice was knife-edged. "Welcome, Frodo of the Shire, one who has seen the Eye!"

Celeborn finally spoke from his chair on the top of the platform. " What now becomes of this fellowship? Without Gandalf, hope is lost." Galadriel walked back up to him.  
"The quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little, and it will fail to the ruin of all. Yet hope remains while the Company is true. Do not let your hearts be troubled. Go now and rest, for you are weary with sorrow and much toil. Tonight, you will sleep in peace..."

That night, they all bedded down under the great trees in a secluded grove. The hobbits, Boromir and Gimli fell asleep almost immediately, as all had been given soft bedding, better than they had slept on in countless days. The Jedi also slept, but so attuned to their surroundings that they would wake if anything happened. Han, Chewie and Leia conversed quietly with Aragorn of the intentions of Galadriel, but soon, they too, slept. Legolas was missing, having gone off to talk with the Lorien elves.

At this time of complete silence, Frodo awakened. He sensed something... A summons. He stood, walking softly past the sleeping Jedi, unaware that Zekk had risen and was following, silent. Frodo padded softly into a grove where Galadriel waited, holding a silver jug. She gathered water from a spring, and all the time watching him, poured the water into a fountain that gleamed in the moonlight.  
"Will you look into the mirror?" Frodo looked almost fearful, then glanced into the water.  
"What will I see?" Galadriel raised an eyebrow.  
"Even the wisest cannot tell. For the mirror shows many things. Things that were, things that are, and some things that have not yet come to pass." Frodo hesitated, then leaned over the mirror and gazed into it.

From Zekk's hiding place above the grove, he watched Frodo look into the mirror. He seemed fine, until he began to twitch and shake, as if what he was seeming caused him great pain. Then, with a yelp, the hobbit fell back. Zekk wondered what it was the mirror showed.

" I know what it was that you saw. For it is also in my mind. It is what will come to pass if you should fail. The Fellowship is breaking . It has already begun. He will try to take the Ring. You know of whom I speak. One by one it will destroy them all." Frodo picked himself up, looking greatly shaken.

He removed the ring from his neck, offering it to the elf. "If you ask it of me, I will give you the One Ring." Galadriel reached out, but did not touch the ring.  
"You offer it to me freely. I do not deny that my heart has greatly desired this..." She shook, seemingly growing larger. "In the place of a Dark Lord, you would have a QUEEN! NOT DARK, BUT BEAUTIFUL AND TERRIBLE AS THE DAWN! TREACHEROUS AS THE SEA! STRONGER THAN THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE EARTH! ALL SHALL LOVE ME AND DESPAIR..." Quaking, she shrunk to her normal size again, breathing hard. "I pass the test. I will diminish, and go into the West, and remain Galadriel." Frodo looked terrified. At this, Zekk left his place, swiftly returning to tell the rest of what he saw.


	20. Departure

Chapter Twenty-two- Departure 

The fellowship stayed in Lothlorien for another week. They gathered provisions, slept for decent hours, and had baths. The patrolling elves that watched Lorien's borders kindly asked the wookiees to accompany them for several days, seeing how the larger beings wanted to get out and roam. Chewbacca happily went along, and Lowie as well. They intended to find trees they were allowed to climb and wanted to be able to see as much of the land as possible.

The Jedi spent most of their time relaxing, in ways only Jedi find relaxing. They sparred with their lightsabers, meditated amongst the trees, took walks to oversee the land, and had long talks with Galadriel about the Jedi way. The elf queen told of her past and the lectures she had heard of the otherworldly 'Jedi'. In fact, one of the first dark lords, Melkor, had been, in part, a Dark Jedi. There had been other Jedi in Middle Earth, but they had not been very public about their powers. Luthien had had a small amount of Force-power, and had been able to cloud her appearance and manipulate her surroundings. She had corralled Beren by such tactics, making herself seem more beautiful then she really was, and causing the man to fall for her. (Legend has it, that Luthien was really a dwarf. A very ugly dwarf.)

Jacen took to spending his time with Talon, perusing the forest's animal and plant life with great interest. Tenel Ka often went with him, trying to convince the black bird that she was just as good a perch as Jacen. Leia meditated as well, taking time to sit and relax with her children and their friends. She talked often with Aragorn and Han, sometimes including Celeborn and Galadriel in their talks. They were trying to find the safest route to Mordor, without passing too close to the evil Wizard Sarumon's territory, as well as sidetracking any number of other dangers.

The hobbits found ways to spend their time. Merry and Pippin, one night, challenged several elves and Boromir to a drinking contest that escalated to a full-out brawl and singing fest. The participants had been all but tied down by Aragorn and Han, but their drunken singing could be heard for many a league around. Frodo and Sam spent much of their time taking walks about the forests, often running into Jacen and Tenel Ka. Sam enjoyed Jacen's company, teaching him of the native plants that grew about, and hearing of the Jedi's many previous adventures.

Legolas took most of the time in Lothlorien to try and make friends with Gimli. He took the dwarf to elf friends he knew, had long talks... Whatever the means, by the end of the week, Legolas was laughing and chatting with Gimli like they had grown up together.

The group was summoned to the river's edge early one morning, and they packed their things, knowing it was time to move on. Galadriel was waiting for them in her swan boat, standing beside a pile of something. The fellowship dropped their bags, and as instructed by Celeborn, they lined up on the shore. Galadriel stood and walked off a ramp in front of the waiting fellowship.  
"I hope your rest in my lands has been restorative. Your quest must again be taken up; the urgency of destroying the ring is now more than ever. I have here a few gifts to speed you on your way. First, woven cloaks. Never before have we clad strangers in the garb of our own people. May these cloaks help shield you from unfriendly eyes." A group of elves strode forth and pinned cloaks on each of the fellowship members; each tailored to his or her size. Chewie was most impressed at the wookiee-sized garment. The cloaks were pinned with shining pins in the shape of mallorn leaves wrought in silver. Next, Galadriel waved forward two elves that had her pile of goods in their arms. She went first to Aragorn.

"I have nothing greater to give, than the gift you already bear. For her love, I fear the grace of Arwen Evenstar will diminish." She touched the necklace of silver Aragorn always wore, and had never explained about to anyone. He bowed. She then handed him a leather scabbard.  
"But since all the others are getting gifts, I had this made for you. It shall keep the blade of Anduril clean and keen for however long you live." He bowed again, accepting the deep-brown leather. Galadriel then moved on.

"My gift for you, Legolas, is a bow of the Galadhrim. Worthy of the skill of our woodland kin." She handed him a gleaming wooden bow-stave and bowstring. He strung the bow with ease and reveled at the levelness and apparent quality of the make.

" These are the daggers of the Noldorin. They have already seen service in war." She handed two daggers, sword length in hobbit size, to Merry and Pippin. They gaped, then Pippin looked down, believing the dagger pointed to some weakness of his. Galadriel smiled softly and raised his chin.  
"Do not fear, young Peregrin Took. You will find your courage." He grinned weakly and bowed. She moved along down the line.

"For you Samwise, I give you the soil of my gardens, may your skills keep the beauty of the elves present in all of Middle Earth." He looked awed, and opening the box, he found a shining silver seed in the middle of the earth. Galadriel winked, moving on.

"Boromir, my soldiers tell me you fight with a weapon not of your people. I give to you, then, your sword." She passed on a scabbard, from which the hilt of Boromir's previously broken sword protruded. He looked skeptical, then drew it. The sword was whole again, gleaming in the daylight. Boromir's face lit up, and he bowed deeply.  
"Many thanks, Milady!" Galadriel nodded, looking pleased. She came to Gimli, who fidgeted.

"And what would a dwarf ask of the elves?" He grunted, mumbling something. Galadriel bent, and he whispered. Grinning, the elf queen stood again, and grasping three hairs on her head, she pulled them cleanly out and handed them to the amazed dwarf. Gimli stood, thunderstruck, and cradled the hairs as if his life depended on them. She grinned again, moving on to the next people.

"Han, Leia. We have spoken much over these past days, and I respect you greatly. With the differences in our cultures I found it difficult to choose gifts for your people, and most difficult was your gifts. I present to you, rings of my people." An elf came forward with two small boxes and handed them to the couple.

They cracked them open to reveal matched rings; both in wrought silver and fitted perfectly to their fingers. Both rings had the image of a coiled bird, with faceted diamond eyes. Galadriel smiled at their perplexity over the bird's image.  
"They are falcons. You told me of your ship, the Millennium Falcon, and they way you spoke of it relayed your true love for it. Yes, Leia, even your love for it. My best jewelers made these for you, if ever should anything happen to the Falcon or each other, that you may have a image to keep with you." Han looked as if a bantha had just stepped on his chest. He stepped forward and hugged the elf queen fiercely, then hugged Leia. Galadriel hugged Han back, then moved on.

"Chewbacca. Your people love them trees, and care for the life of the forests. My patrol-elves have told me that you prefer to fight with a bowcaster. Therefore, I have made for you new bolts for the weapon, from the wood of the great mallorns. They will fly fast and true. Lowbacca, a wookiee as well as Jedi. For you I have a dagger, much like those of Merry and Pippin. For close combat, where swords of light may only give away your presence." Both wookiees howled their gratitude, to which Galadriel nodded.

"Zekk. For you, a bag. It can carry all that you wish to fill it with, expanding to great volume without compromising the visible size. I hope it comes in handy on your journey." Zekk bowed.

"Jaina. For you, jewelry. We have made this necklace out things you may recognize, as well as things of our world." She handed the Jedi a necklace that shined brightly, and Jaina gasped as she recognized shards of transparasteel, and bits of other metallics she was used to working with. Also prevalent was woven mallorn bark, mithril, and diamond. She clutched the necklace to her chest and bowed deeply. "Thank you, Galadriel!" Zekk helped her put on the necklace while Galadriel moved on.

"Tahiri. To you I give this elven balm, for healing those who may need it. It can heal most wounds, from cuts and punctures to broken bones. Your friends may need your help in the future, and I foresee you being the most help of all." She handed Tahiri a jar stoppered with wood. Tahiri smiled and gave her thanks.

"Anakin. You revel in puzzles and problems, working them out with quick thought and logic. To you I give these bottles. Each has a different use. Some for dissolving metal, some for dissolving the will of the enemy. Use them cautiously." She gave Anakin a box, which he opened to show an array of seven bottles, each labeled and stoppered. Smiling, she moved on yet again.

"Tenel Ka. A great warrior, working with ease around a seemingly insurmountable problem." She nodded to Tenel Ka's arm-stump. "I have great respect for your courage and determination. To you I give this tunic. Light and skin-tight it may seem, but you will find that it moves as easily as the lizard hide you currently wear. I had it made of Mithril rings, each as hard as dragon scales, or to put it in your frame of being, durasteel. It will repel most all attacks, including your swords of light. You may wear it beneath your lizard hide, as it will not impede your movement." She handed Tenel Ka a shining garment that weighed next to nothing, and seemed fragile. She took it with a courtly bow, thanks and awe shining in hergrey eyes.Galadriel moved on with her last two gifts.

"Jacen. You talk with ease to the life of our world. To you I give this." She handed him a satchel. Inside was a large egg. "When it hatches, you will have the greatest creature my world possesses. Care for it gently." She at last came to Frodo.

"To you, Ringbearer, I give the Light of Earendil, our most beloved star. May it be a light you in dark places, when all other lights go out." He took the proffered vial and bowed. All the gifts having been given, Galadriel returned to her swan-boat. "May your journey be safe and quick, and may the Force be with you. Namarie."

As one the Fellowship of the Rings bowed, and separated into the boats given to them, outfitted with food and supplies. They entered the river as a group, waving to the elves on the banks.


	21. Jedith

Chapter Twenty three: Jedith. 

The fellowship made good time on the river that day; the boats of Lorien were fast and sleek. Only small incidents occurred during the day, such as when Sam confided in Pippin that he was afraid of water, and was subsequently dumped overboard. Aragorn refused to talk to Pippin for the rest of the day, as he had had to ruin his Smell by diving in the rescue Sam.

That night, they pushed the boats ashore and made camp. Aragorn volunteered himself and Pippin to hunt for dinner, and he dragged the hobbit off, kicking and screaming. Jacen, having spent the whole day attempting to keep his egg warm, made a bonfire and stuck the egg under a pile of ashes. Oddly, the egg seemed to have grown during the day, and now was about the size of a cannonball. Jacen wasn't worried, as it was also rock hard, and reasonably warm.

After a dinner of deer and berries Pippin had 'caught', everyone retired to their tents, tired from the day's traveling. Chewie took watch, and the camp settled into silence.

Around 3 AM, a great scratching noise could be heard from Jacen and Tenel Ka's tent. Everyone was woken by the noise, and clustered around the tent to investigate.  
"Jace? What's the noise? Is it the egg?" Jaina said, opening the flap and peering in. The egg was in the middle of the tent, rocking madly. The scratching noise was coming from inside.  
"I don't want it to hatch in here. He won't have enough room..." Jacen seemed to be talking to the egg, but Jaina and Tenet Ka grabbed the egg up nonetheless, carrying it out to the smoldering fire-pit.

Jacen followed behind, still looking distant and confused. When the girls placed the egg in the ashes, he took up a stump beside the fire and stroked the pulsing shell. The rest of the fellowship clustered around the fire-pit, anxious. Leia placed a blanket about her son's shoulders, but no one said anything.

Ten minutes into this odd vigil, the egg seemed to vibrate with energy. Hairline cracks appeared in the shell, and a knocking noise could be heard from inside. Jacen held his breath, leaning forward. Suddenly, all movement in the egg stopped. No one made a noise. Then- BANG! The shell flew apart, shards going everywhere. The creature within uncoiled itself and creeled.

It was a dragon. A shining, slightly wet, bronze dragon. Jacen gasped. He fell forward, the blanket falling from his shoulders. The little bronze stopped his creeling upon noticing Jacen, and bugled. Jacen reached forward, scratching the bronze's eyeridges. Eyes shining with joy, he turned to his friends, family and Gimli.

"He says his name is Jedith! His voice is in my head!"

Note: If anyone has read the Dragonriders of Pern series, they will understand about the dragon. If you haven't read those books yet..Do so. Now.


End file.
